Putin tells Cameron: You are siding with cannibals

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David Cameron was warned last night that he would risk arming extremists who
“eat the organs” of their enemies if he handed weapons to Syrian rebels.

In an extraordinary riposte to the Prime Minister, the Russian President
Vladimir Putin said that the brutal tactics used by some of the rebels battling
to topple Bashir Assad’s regime were at odds with the
“humanitarian and cultural values” of Europe.

The exchanges, made during an icy Downing Street press conference, highlighted
the gulf remaining between Russia and the West before key talks over Syria
today.

Mr Cameron had hoped to use the G8

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Icy: the two leaders at Downing Street

June 17 2013 Facundo Arrizabalaga/AFP/Getty Images

Icy: the two leaders at Downing Street

June 17 2013 Facundo Arrizabalaga/AFP/Getty Images

What are the leaders of the richest countries doing in a quiet corner of Northern Ireland?
It’s that time of year — the annual G8 summit — and with Britain holding the rotating presidency, David Cameron has chosen the Lough Erne Resort in County Fermanagh to bring together the leaders of the US, Canada, Japan, France, Germany, Italy and Russia. He wants to show off the Province’s progress under the peace process. And it is very hard for anti-G8 protesters to get to.
The usual lavish affair?
Quite the reverse — at least, that is the aim. The wives (and Angela Merkel’s husband) have been left behind. Officials accompanying the eight leaders (plus bigwigs from Brussels) are to be kept to a minimum, as Mr Cameron tries to create a businesslike atmosphere. No 10 wants to score points by keeping the cost below the £12 million Tony Blair spent on the Gleneagles summit in 2005 (minus security costs).
What does Mr Cameron want to achieve?
He has gone for alliteration in crafting an agenda around "the three Ts" of tax, transparency and trade. The main aim is to secure a big international push against tax dodgers. Specifically, the PM wants G8 countries to lobby jointly the OECD for new global rules on exchanging tax information. Mr Cameron also wants to announce the start of talks towards an EU-US trade deal.
Anything else?
There is another, less prominent, "T" in the agenda — terrorism. Mr Cameron wants G8 countries to sign up to UK practices and pledge not to pay ransom money to terrorists
Will any of that succeed?
The trade talks are a virtual done deal after fellow EU leaders allowed France to draw a red line around its film industry and carry on subsidising it. Mr Cameron will doubtless trumpet a deal on tax, although the agenda is more modest than initially hoped for. On terrorism, Italy, France and Japan have been accused of paying ransom money. The value of any public pronouncements may be questionable.